Rich Clementi looking for bonus at UFC 83

Riding a four-fight win streak, veteran lightweight and “The Ultimate Fighter 4″ veteran Rich “No Love” Clementi (30-12-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is looking for more than just a victory against Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout (13-3-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC); he’s also looking for a bonus check from the UFC.

Clementi was in the running for Submission of the Night honors in two of his recent fights, only to come up short. The Team Voodoo fighter discussed his experiences and his upcoming bout on the UFC 83 undercard while a guest on Thursday’s edition of TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com), a content partner of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

“It’s been killing me,” Clementi said of his near-misses. “Last time when I submitted (Melvin) Guillard (at UFC 79), Forrest (Griffin) came and got that last one, with like 20 seconds left… Same thing with Ed Herman went I fought in Florida (at UFC Fight Night 8). He was the only other guy to get a submission. I’ve missed out on it twice when I was real close. So hopefully I’ll get another one.”

If Clementi does indeed win a bonus from his performance, it may be in a fight that PPV-buyers don’t get to see. The Clementi-Stout bout has been relegated to the un-televised undercard of the show. The 31-year-old said he is unfazed by his positioning on the card.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s great for a fighter’s career,” Clementi said regarding appearing in a main-card bout. “But at this point in time — main card, undercard, to me it doesn’t matter. I’m just looking to go in there and try and put on a dominating performance to try and move up that ladder a little bit.”

The Louisiana native feels that while Stout is a game opponent, the match-up of styles favors Clementi.

“That’s where I think it makes it a little bit of a more difficult fight for him than me, is that I’ve never been knocked out, ever,” Clementi said. “Whether pro Muay-Thai, pro boxing or 60-something MMA fights. And I feel like the kicks aren’t going to be real heavily worked into his game because he’s seen a few of the guys that tried to kick on me get caught and go to the ground. If he kicks on me, he’s going to go on his back. I just feel it.

“He does have great punching ability. That’s great when you’re in the gym and stuff. But when you’re worried about getting taken down from a guy, it makes you not commit so much in your punches. And if he does start committing, I feel like I have the ability to take him down.”

And while Clementi feels he will win the fight, he does have great respect for Stout’s competitive spirit in the octagon.

“One thing I do like about Stout, and why I like this fight and him as a competitor, is I feel like he’s a very difficult guy to change his attitude,” Clementi said. “You’ll see some guys that are OK when they’re fighting, then they get hurt a little bit or things don’t go their way, and their attitude changes. But he really keeps that constant keel, and I have a lot of respect for him about that.”

So heading in to the UFC’s record-breaking first event in Canada, Clementi is looking to use the Canadian-born Stout as a stepping stone to move up the UFC’s lightweight division — and to get paid.

“People know who I am,” Clementi said. “I don’t have anything to prove 60-something fights later. People know I’m a fighter and who I am. Those days of me just looking out there at wars, I’m past that. I’m trying to move up the tree, and that’s what I’m concerned at. I don’t look for the Fight of the Night award so much, but I’ll definitely look for the KO and submission bonuses.

Clementi also discussed his continued conflicts with Melvin Guillard, his experience on “The Ultimate Fighter,” and his upcoming promotions as owner of No Love Entertainment. To hear the full interview, download Thursday’s edition of TAGG Radio, available for free in the TAGG Radio archives.

This story, written by John Morgan, was produced by TAGG Radio specially for MMAjunkie.com.
The show — which is hosted by fighter/broadcaster Frank Trigg,
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Download all the former episodes at www.taggradio.com, or tune into TAGG Radio’s live shows Monday-Friday at noon ET/9 a.m. PT.

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